


A Biffable Betrayal

by PeachyPansexual



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5: The Royal - Fandom
Genre: 3rd semester spoilers, 5th Palace Spoilers, I just want more haru content that lets her have complicated feelings about this guy, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, also the mental image of the redirect and then thwap was too funny, like 'yeah I should hate him but I can't completely', marin karin shenanigans, no this is not a ship thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25723597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachyPansexual/pseuds/PeachyPansexual
Summary: The world went sideways, spun past him, and all the air left his lungs when his back slammed into the ground with a dull thud and an angry wheeze. He was vaguely aware of his mask and sword clattering across the floor in two different directions. Noir planted a foot on his chest to pin him and hoisted her axe onto her shoulder. She brought the battle axe up over her head with both hands and no small amount of effort, and with an angry cry, brought it crashing down...
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	A Biffable Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

> I'll say it again out of the tags, we got Royal spoilers here! 3rd semester Persona 5 Royal spoilers here! Spoilers for the 5th palace, too! Consider yourselves warned!
> 
> (If you read this like an old-timey carnival barker, you're doing it right.)

When the others described their experience with Marin Karin and being brainwashed, the consistent theme was the feeling of blurring. The line between enemy and ally turns fuzzy, the edges of their mind clouds up, and every thought outside of fighting instinct becomes hazy. Sometimes a little voice from the shadow that would control them whispers in their ear, nudging them in the direction of their teammates, sometimes it’s blind panic that makes them swing at the nearest body regardless of who it actually is. They know what to expect, though, after months of slogging through over half a dozen palaces and a couple hundred floors of Mementos, and most of the active team shakes the spell off easy enough.

Akechi, however, isn’t so lucky. Maybe it’s because he isn’t used to working with a team with everything finally out in the open, maybe it’s because the sensation he was braced for and the one he experienced were two wholly different things. Rather than his senses going vague and hazy, it was a moment of sudden clarity, all the pieces clicking into place; the Phantom Thieves were going to turn on him sooner or later, he’d been an outsider on their team and it was obvious his presence was only tolerated at best. As soon as they were done using him to get through Maruki’s palace, they’d dispose of him just like the rest.

Two could play at that game. 

“Crow’s brainwashed!” Oracle’s voice rang out over their comms. “Someone snap him out of it, quick!”  _ Brilliant call, warn me that they’re going to move _ , Akechi thought somewhat smugly as he dodged the Phantom Thief behind him and Skull’s harisen whiffed ineffectually past his helmet. Akechi planted his boot on Skull’s chest and kicked out hard to send him stumbling back into Joker, whose spell died in his throat as they both fell in an ungraceful heap on the floor of Mementos. 

Ahead of him, Noir’s face had shifted from confusion to steely determination and Akechi made a snap decision; she’d either be the weak link that would give him his opening to make a break for it or the one most likely to act on the promise to put him down for good should he ever turn on the team. Either way, better to deal with her first. He rushed her, confident that he’d be faster with his blade than she’d be with that unwieldy axe that, admittedly, he’d seen split shadows from head to toe like they were nothing.  _ One shot, I’ll make it count-- _

Noir, apparently having had the same thought, had forgone her axe completely to deal with him and in the split second between her dodging his sword and disarming him at the wrist in one fluid motion, he recalled something about her taking self defense lessons with Queen recently. Before he could recover, she had tucked herself against him, yanked his arm downward, and used his own forward momentum to flip Akechi over her shoulder. The world went sideways, spun past him, and all the air left his lungs when his back slammed into the ground with a dull thud and an angry wheeze. He was vaguely aware of his mask and sword clattering across the floor in two different directions. Noir planted a foot on his chest to pin him and hoisted her axe onto her shoulder. She brought the battle axe up over her head with both hands and no small amount of effort, and with an angry cry, brought it crashing down...

_ Dammit, this is it. I shouldn’t have underestimated her. Well, it wasn’t as though I planned on surviving into March anyways, but this is just embarrassing. _

...into the skull of the shadow that thought it could take the two of them out while they were distracted. A fatal mistake, judging by the way the axe cleaved through its head and then the rest of the creature and then the concrete where it once stood as though they were all made of butter. A tense beat passed as Noir’s eyes flicked to the other shadow, further away and still keeping its spell going, and Akechi prone on the ground. Anger was etched in her usually placid features and his mind reeled with possible outs.  _ My gauntlets are sharp, I could hamstring her and get away. It’ll be messy, but not impossible. _ He grabbed the leg still keeping him pinned as she pulled her hand up and--

**WHAP.**

A tense beat passed as what just happened sunk in.

“Did you just backhand me?!” Akechi spluttered indignantly, clutching his stinging cheek. Noir’s hand was still raised, poised for another slap if he was still…  _ Why did I think these sentimental morons were going to turn on me? _ He released Noir’s leg and held up his hand defensively. “I’ve been sufficiently snapped out of it, you can let me up now.” Akechi said dryly, working his jaw back into place after her strike. She hesitated a moment, then pulled back and even offered him a hand up while Joker and Skull dispatched their last enemy. He didn’t take it.

“Of course, Crow. Sorry I didn’t have time to use the fan instead.” Noir explained while Akechi reclaimed his sword and felt his mask settle back into place. He made a noncommittal noise in response and hauled himself up onto the platform that they’d been so rudely diverted from a moment ago. The others passed him with a few glances caught between wariness and concern that Akechi pointedly ignored. 

“I must admit, you handled that better than I anticipated. Although for a moment I was certain you were going to finish  _ me  _ off rather than the shadow.” He confessed as Noir made her way to the escalator. “After all, you did say you’d be quick to deal with me at the first sign of a betrayal. Rather cheerfully, I might add.” His voice was nearly accusatory at the end.

“Hm? Yes, I need to thank Queen for her lessons later. And that wasn’t a betrayal, Crow. We’ve all had brainwash incidents.” Noir explained politely, as though they were discussing the weather and not the fact that he had been willing and eager to brutalize her and the rest of the team not a full minute ago. Her tone was airy, almost too casual considering her personal grievances with him. “I would never…” She started more seriously, then paused to consider her words. “I don’t think I can ever forgive you, and we will certainly never be friends. But I believe we have enough in common that I cannot bring myself to hate you. Certainly not enough to want to kill you at all, let alone over a misstep that was out of your control.”

“What could you and I possibly have in common?” He asked sharply, quick to evacuate himself from any common ground he had with the Phantom Thieves, partly out of habit, partly out of.... courtesy, maybe, considering the inevitable. 

“You followed us in my father’s palace, you must have.” Noir continued patiently. “How much did you see of our confrontation with him?” Akechi’s mouth pressed into a thin line as he recalled the fight; wave after wave of literal corporate drones to wear down the Phantom Thieves, culminating in the intended sacrifice of the cognitive Haru Okumura. Noir had cut her robotic doppelganger down much in the way Akechi had expected her to do with him moments ago; furious, brutal, and likely deeply cathartic in a bittersweet, fucked-up sort of way. “All of it, then?” Noir asked when she caught the look on his face. “When we saw your cognitive double in Shido’s palace, all I could think of was the blank little puppet my father saw me as. As I said before, we will likely never be friends, Crow. But it’s hard to hate someone when you see that much of yourself in them. And I would never cut you down for the things you do when under the control of another.” She finished softly.

“...I see.” It was all Akechi could really manage. It’d be a lie to say he hadn’t had the same thoughts before, but he certainly didn’t plan on  _ admitting _ that. Nevertheless, it was surprising to hear it out loud, especially by someone who had every right to want him dead. _ What next, bonding with Oracle over Featherman theories? _ “Thank you. I think.”

“Of course!” She chirped, cheerful demeanor back securely in place. “That said, if you do betray us again under your own power, I won’t hesitate to cut you down.” Noir assured him with a smile that was all saccharine and cyanide as she stepped onto the escalator and up to the rest of the team, signaling the end of their little heart to heart.

“Right.” Akechi said flatly.

**Author's Note:**

> It's rare that I get this excited about writing a fic and it actually stays as short as I want it to. 
> 
> This fic brought to you by Paralyzed - Mystery Skulls. (Uhhh don't read into the lyrics, that makes it feel vaguely shippy and that was not at all my intent, this is just what my brain insisted on vibing to while writing this. Unless you want it to be shippy, in which case, more power to you? Anyways.)
> 
> I thrive on comments and kudos!


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